Samsung Galaxy Note 10 is a flagship product of the brand. It is the best of the best that Samsung offers. With this year’s January launch, Samsung now offers a semi-flagship product, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite. This semi flagship product costs almost half of the Samsung Note 10 and yet provides some of the best specifications available on the market. Obviously, Samsung Note 10 is better in various areas owing to its higher price tag. But by providing this comparison, you will be able to decide whether you require these features and which is the better version of Note 10 for you.
| Note 10 Lite | Note 10 |
| Good-quality AMOLED display | High-performance 256GB of storage |
| Retains a 3.5mm audio jack | Speaker with Dolby Atmos/AKG sound |
| S-Pen in this segment is unique | Full S Pen in a compact phone |
| No microSD Simcard slot | Corning Gorilla Glass 6 |
| No IP rating for water resistance | No microSD expansion |
Key Specification
| Note 10 Lite | Note 10 | |
| $ | CHECK PRICE | CHECK PRICE |
| Released | 2020, January | 2019 August |
| Chipset | Exynos 9810 (10 nm) | Exynos 9825 |
| Display | 6.7 inches | 6.3 inches |
| Memory | 6/8 GB | 8 GB |
| Camera | 12 MP + 12 MP + 16 MP | 12 MP + 12 MP + 16 MP |
| Fingerprint Sensor Position | On-screen | On-screen |
Design
| Note 10 Lite | Note 10 | |
| Dimensions | 163.7 x 76.1 x 8.7 mm | 151 x 71.8 x 7.9 mm |
| Weight | 199 grams | 168 grams |
| Screen Size | 6.7 inches | 6.3 inches |
| Color | Aura Glow, Aura Black | Aura Glow, Aura Black |
| Display Type | Super AMOLED | Dynamic AMOLED |
| Pixel Density | 394 ppi | 401 ppi |
| Build Material | Gorilla Glass 3 | Corning Gorilla Glass 6 |
The Samsung Note 10 has a more premium look, hands down. It has a curved back and front with the Gorilla Glass 6 protection and a shiny aluminum frame. The Samsung Note 10 Lite lacks the curved edges and only has a plastic body. It does have a shiny aluminum frame. The Note 10 Lite is heftier. Also, Note 10 gets the IP68 water protection that the Note 10 Lite does not. However, Note 10 Lite does not feel cheap but it is no match for Note 10 in terms of design.
Both the phones have Super AMOLED panels of the Infinity-O design, with a central punch out for the selfie camera. The Samsung Note 10 comes with a 6.3-inch display, on the other hand, the Note 10 Lite has a 6.7-inch display. Both offer a Full HD+ resolution. The pixel density varies slightly with the Note 10 at 401 PPI and the Note 10 Lite at 394 PPI.
The Samsung Note 10 Lite has larger bezels than that of Note 10. Samsung Note 10 has a smaller display which may make the use of the S-Pen difficult or inefficient for some users. Overall, the Note 10 and Note 10 Lite are extremely similar when their displays are compared. The preference of bezel size or screen size will ultimately decide which phone display may be chosen.
Performance
| Note 10 Lite | Note 10 | |
| Processor | Octa Core (2.7 GHz + 1.8 GHz) | Octa core (2.7 GHz) |
| GPU | Adreno 620 | Mali-G72 MP3 |
| RAM | 6/8 GB | 8 GB |
| Internal storage | 128 GB | 256 GB |
| Storage expansion | Yes Upto 1 TB | No |
| OS | Android 10 | Android Pie 9 |
Both the devices run on Android 10 with ONE UI 2.0 on top. There is a stark performance difference between the two. Samsung Note 10 comes with 7nm Exynos 9825 chipset, which easily outperforms the 10nm Exynos 9810 of Samsung Note 10 Lite. The Note 10 runs on 8 GB Ram and has 256 GB internal storage, not expandable. The Note 10 Lite offers 6GB/8GB RAM options and has 128 GB internal storage with an option for storage expansion. Samsung Note 10 also offers a better GPU.
Camera
| Note 10 Lite | Note 10 | |
| Rear | 12 MP + 12 MP + 16 MP | 12 MP + 12 MP + 16 MP |
| Flash | Yes | Yes |
| Front | 32 MP | 10 MP |
| Video recording | 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps; gyro-EIS | 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS & OIS |
The Samsung Note 10 has a vertical triple rear camera setup. It has a 12-megapixel primary camera with a 12-megapixel telephoto lens and a 16-megapixel ultra-wide camera. The Samsung Note 10 Lite has a slightly changed system with a 12-megapixel primary lens, a 12-megapixel telephoto lens, and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera. But this difference does not show up in the images, producing equal quality pictures. Both devices yield very similar video results as well. The selfie camera on the Note 10 is a 32-megapixel while on the Note 10 Lite is a 10-megapixel. This also does not translate in any drastic change in image quality.
Multimedia
| Note 10 Lite | Note 10 | |
| Headphone jack | Yes | No |
| Loudspeaker | Yes | Yes, with stereo speakers |
The Samsung Note 10 packs some amazing quality stereo speakers while the speakers on Note 10 Lite are not stereo. But the Samsung Note 10 Lite offers a headphone jack, which is a pleasant surprise.
Battery Life
| Note 10 Lite | Note 10 | |
| Capacity | 4500 mAh | 3500 mAh |
| Type | Li-ion | Li-ion |
| Quick Charging | Fast charging 25W | Fast charging 25W |
| User Replaceable | No | No |
The Samsung Note 10 Lite packs a 4500 mAh battery, which easily beats the Note 10 3500 mAh battery. Both the devices support 25W fast charging. Only, Samsung Note 10 supports wireless and reverse wireless charging.
Connectivity
|  | Note 10 Lite | Note 10 |
| SIM | Dual SIM, GSM+GSM | Dual SIM, GSM+GSM |
| Bluetooth | 5.0, A2DP, LE | 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX |
| Wifi | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot |
| Nfc | Yes | Yes |
| Gps | Yes | Yes |
| Sensors | Fingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass | Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer |
Which is better?
Being the flagship product, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 easily comes out as the winner. It provides the most wonderful design, a better performance, a stereo speaker, novel features like wireless charging, and the latest S-pen. If one has the means and need for this product, it is a good choice.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite offers a great price to performance ratio. It delivers a very similar performance that of the flagship device. It provides the same display, software, and camera of the Note 10. It offers better battery life. The Note 10 Lite offers the coveted S-Pen for the first time in the mid-range device. This S-Pen does not have all the functions provided with the Note 10’s S-Pen but does perform all the basic and important features. If one is on a budget or just does not feel the need for the extra performance delivered by Note 10, the Samsung Note 10 Lite is an excellent choice.
